Artificial intelligence may displace workers in some sectors but will also create new employment opportunities, making it essential for Bangladesh to align its education system and workforce skills with the changing demands of the AI-driven economy, said Mahdi Amin, an adviser to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
“Definitely, many jobs may disappear in the coming days because of AI. Just as this is true, it is also true that many jobs will be created through AI,” he said.
He was speaking at a panel discussion titled “Industry and academia linkage: AI-fication towards Business Innovation” at the Bangladesh AI Business Summit 2026, organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre today.
Mahdi stressed the need to update academic curricula and make education more practical and relevant to emerging technologies, from data annotation to AI applications.
He said Bangladesh needed stronger collaboration among industry, academia and the government to develop local solutions to the country’s problems through teaching, research and practical projects.
“Talent is not a problem. The problem is whether we are providing them with the right platform where their brains can flourish,” he said.
He pointed to the country’s brain drain, saying many Bangladeshi engineers, scientists, researchers and professionals were working at leading foreign universities and multinational companies.
The government wants to turn this brain drain into “brain circulation” by creating opportunities for expatriate Bangladeshis to contribute through investment, teaching, research and collaboration with local institutions, the adviser said.
He cited traffic congestion, agricultural productivity, weather-based farming forecasts and industrial efficiency as areas where local expertise could develop solutions instead of relying on foreign products and consultants.
He also highlighted the importance of responsible AI use, saying its impact would depend on how people chose to deploy the technology.
Turning to education reform, Mahdi said the prime minister wanted an education system that developed both good citizens with strong values and individuals equipped with the skills needed for employment and entrepreneurship.
He said not everyone needed to become a doctor, engineer or scientist, adding that the government wanted to create alternative career pathways through technical education for students who failed to achieve the expected results in secondary and higher secondary examinations.
The adviser also said the government was working to provide startup funding and grants to students, teachers and researchers with promising ideas, while extending seed funding opportunities to aspiring entrepreneurs in the informal economy.
“Big factories are important, but if we can create 100,000 entrepreneurs, each employing two, four or five people, we can generate hundreds of thousands of jobs very quickly,” he said.